Building Our House

Release and Watch Providence Work

All right friends – I need to catch you up on a few minor details. One of them being we’ve started building our new house.

First we said we were, then we weren’t, and back and forth until I’ve honestly lost track of it all. We got to the point where I thought we were going to stay in our current home for as long as we needed.

We are trying to find the balance between making sensible financial decisions as well as creating an environment our kids can thrive in. For the last few years, we’ve erred on the side of finances. Who would blame us after 2008?

But an amazing thing happened when we started to give our dreams a chance again.

We sold two lots we’d been holding onto in one day, and secured temporary financing so we could stay in our house for at least half of the construction process (finding rentals here is very difficult). All I can say is that we are SUPPOSED to be there, and I think it’s for more than one reason.

The peace I feel at our horse property is tangible. It doesn’t matter how hard we are working…be it moving sprinkler pipe, pulling weeds, riding horses, or working on the house together. It feels like home. I don’t think it’s the location as much as it is a coming into ourselves. As much as I fought to get out of Star Valley, I’m learning the city makes me tired. I feel toxic until I can leave again. I need to breathe fresh air and listen to birds and hear frogs at night and climb mountains on a whim.

Growth

I don’t know where this interior design journey is taking me, but I do know I’m where I’m supposed to be. And building our house gives me a chance to get a construction education like never before. Dave and I (mostly Dave) are doing almost everything ourselves, and I’m excited for the possibilities that entails. How many interior designers get to have hands-on construction experience? Architectural details are my favorite part of the design process, and knowing construction is a huge advantage. Already I’ve learned a ton about footings and different kinds of fills and the ideal place to put a home. If dirty construction photos are your thing, make sure to follow along on Instagram to be the first to see how things are coming along.

{Tying rebar. Don’t ask me what that tool is I’m using…haha}

So be expecting many more blog posts as we build and I work through the design issues. It’s always a bit of a moving target, and so don’t be surprised if I change my mind about finishes as we go. I’m excited to take you along on this journey!